Long Beach officials mark the begiing of construction for newest City Hall

City officials Friday came one step closer to erecting a new $533 million Civic Center situated in the heart of downtown Long Beach.

The project, which will include a new City Hall, Port Headquarters and a Main Library, is an idea 10 years in the making, Development Services Director Amy Bodek said at a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday.

Spearheaded by former Mayor Bob Foster and Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, the development has been described as the missing puzzle piece and a “jewel in the crown” of the downtown core.

“It took a lot of chance and a lot of magic for this to happen,” Lowenthal said at Friday’s event.

Mayor Robert Garcia called it a “historic” day for Long Beach, after recounting some of the hurdles the city has leapt over in the past decade.

The Civic Center is being financed through public-private partnerships, similar to how the recently built George Deukmejian Courthouse came to fruition nearly three years ago.

Michael Conway, director of economic and property development, said the city has contracted with Plenary Edgemoor Civic Partners for the project, which will also include $400 million in residential units, a hotel and retail when the Civic Center opens.

When the project is completed in 2019, Lowenthal envisions it as a sort of public living room, a place that coects neighborhoods and the coastline.

“Hopefully this is the last Civic Center groundbreaking we have,” Bodek said on Friday.

Here is a timeline of the past three Long Beach Civic Centers, begiing with the first built in 1899:

• The coerstone for Long Beach’s first City Hall was laid on May 24, 1899. In just five months, the two-story Colonial building was finished.

• In the decade after the first City Hall opened, the town’s population grew from 2,000 to more than 17,000 and many city offices were squeezed out and moved to various locations throughout the city. By 1919, Long Beach’s population had ballooned to 55,000 and ground was broken for a new City Hall on May 26, 1921.

• The $400,000 approved for the new building was insufficient and an additional bond of $200,00 was proposed. A mass meeting to discuss the issue was held on April 17, 1922 at the Municipal Auditorium, preceded by a parade 14 blocks long. The following day, the bond carried by a vote of 12,499 to 2,960.

• The new, eight-story building opened later in 1922 next to the old City Hall. It withstood the 1933 earthquake, unlike many buildings in Long Beach, but it was significantly damaged. Construction work began in the spring of 1934 while several city departments moved into temporary quarters in the Municipal Auditorium. The new building was designed in a Modee style.

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• On July 4, 1976, while the nation was celebrating its bicenteial, Long Beach dedicated its most recent City Hall building at 333 W. Ocean Blvd. in a celebration attended by more than 1,500.

• The newest City Hall is expected to be complete in 2019.